, 1977-The Michigan Daily Tirst Breeze' flies Shenandoah en By EMILY SCHREIBER ednesday night, the University vcase production of The First eze of Summer opened in the ablood Theater. It was enjoyable an involving production, with a minor exceptions. ie story revolves around an rly woman, grand matriarch of Edwards family. Called Grem- by her grandchildren, she was vn as Lucrecia in her youth, h is revealed in a succession of ibacks. Her past romances, trav- and protective lies to her lovers me apparent, as does her three itimate children, the eldest of rn dies. These flashbacks are rtwined with the story of her two iving children, Milton and Edna. ilton's black, middleclass family s with all the problems and licts which come about because his. For example, his youngest Lou is a motivated student, and es to work in a hospital for the mer in preparation for his medi- career rather than helping his - R - a good impression in the March of Dimes WALKATHON THIS1 SPACE COINT IBUTEC) BY THE PUBLISHER The First Breeze of Summer Trueblood Theatre October 26, 1977 By Leslie Lee Directed by Rhonnie Washington Gremmar .................. Marietta Baylis Nate Edwards ..... David Alan Grier Lou Edwards ............. Anthony Lucas Aunt Edna...................Anna C. Aycox Milton Edwards.............John H. McCants Hattie.....................Char M. Bailey Lucretia .................Sheila Tanner Cain Sam Greene ................. Ron "OJ" Parson Briton Woodward Thomas L. Stack Reverend Mosely . Dennis Ray Tyler Hope ............. ....Joyce Bryson Joe Drake .....................Terry Caza Gloria Townes ........ Rochelle Leigh McKracklin' Harper Edwards. .............. Roy Harris, Jr. father in the plastering business. Nate, however, the eldest son has quit high school to work with his father, realizing that his brother has a better chance for academic suc- cess. Nate is no dummy though, and his business sense tells him his father is.sacrif icing profit for being able to get a job. Altercations result. The two brothers are the antithesis of. each other - Lou questions his self identity and rejects his black heri- tage ,while Nate has a lusty personal- ity, basic intelligence and maturity, and takes life as it comes. The performances on the whole were touching and impressive. Pro- fessionalism and believability re- mained constant throughout the show. The show climaxes prema- turely at the end of act II. Unfortun- ately, there is nothing the actors can do about this as it is the fault of the script, not the acting. Baylis as Gremmar was generally e+ sponsored by CBN and the Mh "Union 4 C S (vocalist comedi es, etc.) Call CBN (ioipe) 763- 01 weekda>s 9-2 for op ointment to a dition too stiff and vocally weaker than the rest of the cast. Her breathiness worked for a while but became tedious and difficult to understand. She remained warm and human throughout the play and was not just a cardboard figure. Effective and demanding perform- ances were given by Grier and Lucas who interacted with much energy and power. Their scenes were some of the most memorable of the evening. The humorous nonchalance of Grier worked nicely against Lucas' naive intensity. Cain was spellbinding as Lucretia. She aged beautifully from an impres- sionable teenager to a mature wo- man with three children. She com- bined both the strength and need required for the character both combining to give us a compassion- ate character. Cain's physical and in- ternal beauty radiates from within. One of the most magical moments in the evening came when Ron "OJ" Parson, as Sam Greene, delivered a monologue about selfworth and pride. Parson captivated the audi- ence with his direct approach. Im- pressive performances were given by the remainder of the cast, all displaying character dimension and theatrical diversity. The set was realistic. A two dimen- sional roof hanging over the set gave a feeling of security and warmth. It was a home, not merely a house. The house setting was versatile and easily adapter from past to present; lights assisting in the transforma- tion of time. The projected back wall of the bedroom and change of bedspread also aided in time flow, though some of the scene changes were too long and slowed the pace of the show. The show's music was very import- ant and especially successful. I was enchanted by the use of both jazz and gospel music which when combined with the fine performances, it was a marvelous evening. By SUSAN BARRY Shenandoah Fisher Theatre October 25-November26. By James Lee Barrett Music and Lyrics by Gary Geld and Peter Udell Charlie Anderson.................... John Raitt Jacob.. .............. .. Dean Russell James Paul Myrvold Nathan Robert Quigley John.... David Russell Jenny S...Suzy Brabeau Henry................... ...... Martin Meredith Robert . ..Steve Grober Gabriel.........,...............Tony Holmes War may easily strike one as a rather macabre sub- ject for a musical. And indeed the result often tries ones patience; witness the dreary tedium of such offerings as "Oh What A Lovely War." A musical is practically by definition innocuous entertainment, and striving for relevance would seem inevitably self-depreciating. So Shenandoah, which opened this week at the Fisher Theatre, doesn't really try too hard to push its message. It originates with the idea that war is bad morally and economically, especially for a prosperous farmer who finds his land in the middle of it. But the philosophy behind this theme turns out to be weak and often apologetic in its attempt not to seem unpatriotic. This war is, of course,the Civil War, and Charlie An- derson, played by John Raitt, is fighting to keep his six sons out of it. It's not that the boys are afraid to fight, as they proclaim in a rousing chorus of "Next To Lovin' I Like Fightin,' " and Papa Anderson sees no harm in using force to protect what is his own. He simply can't see the logic in going out and hunting down strangets to kill. This viewpoint changes, however, when his youngest son is taken prisoner by the Union Army. This seems to 1 movie made in 196 was not a music thoroughly explore of the plot. By the second ballads had chang get sticky. This wa the melodrama ou along the wayside. which left the mem why those tears we In the final an, of emotion withou cutest member in Gabriel, a child nearly stole the st ever, was minimal questioning its rele The performa much entertainme of the singing Thu was strong and res stirring lament of' mances of the res barely audible to ai The dancing, h Tucker was ener notable among t Fightin,' " where cleverly choreogr Raitt was some polished and highly In short, Shen, from what was an E to reach out nostal, audience and it ach Guitarist should stick By BILL O'CONNOR Bob Franke was playing hard. Ham- mering on the strings of an ancient metal-bodied guitar and wailing out the blues, you could hear him anywhere on the U-M diag Thursday around noon. There were no amplifiers or micro- phones - just one man sitting on a fold- ing camp stool, playing for contribu- tions and hawking his rather obscure album. Those of us who took the record home' were in for a surprise. None of those fine blues licks graced the grooves.. All songs were written by Bob Franke and dealt with life's changes, growing up, friendship and love - all fine subjects, mind you, but where'd the blues go? The blues reappeared at Franke's concert at the Ark on Thursday eve- ning. They were mixed in with his own quiet, reflective songs. But how well can two totally different musics mix? Unfortunately, not too well. When Franke sings the blues, his voice strains itself wonderfully. He grimaces in the mean parts and grins when it's funny. But his voice is not sweet enough for many of his own songs. In the quiet numbers, he drops his voice to a baritone like the late Jim Morrison's, only rougher. His diction becomes too perfect. As with Joan Baez PAUL FELLIOT .d BERNARD JAY The Amecr aCnnao~m rvae Ttx,irc a n Fnacco r Michael Rdrave The University of Michigan Professional Theatre Program Ann Arbor-Power Center TONIGHT AT 8 P.M.I at.: 8 p.m. Sun.: 2& 8 p.m. PTP Ticket Office Michigan League Mon.-Fri. 104_2;5 p.m. for Info Call (313) 7'56Oso Tickets also aoalobI!j;.wftt Hudsos FINAL PERFORMANCE! 8 P.M.. University Showcase Productions in Trueblood Theatre PTP Ticket Office Michigan League, 10-1, 2-5 p.m. Trueblood Box Office 6-8 p.m-. FOR INFORMATION CALL: (313) 764-0450 before 5 p.m. (313) 764-5387, 6-8 p.m. Tickets through all HUDSON'S First Breeze 0summer Leslie Lee's Compelling BLACK Drama tertains be the sum of the plot gleaned from the 5 with James Stewart. That the movie cal probably explains why it more d the moral and political ramifications act of the play the lusty hoedowns and ed to dirges, and the sentiment began to s where the musical, having squeezed t of the plot, left the bare bones of it- A happy ending was swiftly tacked on, bers of the audience wondering exactly re streaming down their faces. alysis Shenandoah cheated its audience t providing a fair return of plot. The the cast was little Tony Holmes as slave, whose enthusiastic animation ow. His relationship to the plot, how- . One must accept his cuteness without vance. nces of the individual actors wrung nt value out of their roles. The quality rsday night was uneven. Raitt's voice onant and Robert Johanson rendered a "The Only Home I Know." The perfor- t of the cast ranged from hoarse and ; dequate. iowever, with choreography by Robert getic and well executed. The most hese was "Next to Lovin' I Like fake fights and lively steps were aphed. what stiff at first but ended up giving a dignified performance. andoah provided much entertainment essentially truncated plot. It attempted gically to wring the emotions from its ieved this objective with charm. with blues or Tim Buckley, "I am" comes out "I ahhhm." The soft songs make Franke seem dated. A few years ago, a folk perfor- mer could present material with an in- different, distant attitude. This proved that he or she was alienated. But now audiences seem to prefer the performer who gets behind a song and pushes. Franke needs punch on his own songs, not just the blues. Although his banter was informative and amusing like "Here's a toe-tapper about the end of the world," his speech was sprinkled with 60's overtones. He recommended communal fasting, as he'd experienced at an anti-war rally, for "collecting yourself." Franke's instrumental work was superb. He utilized open tunings on the guitar, with full-sounding drone strings strengthening some fine lead runs. His performance on his old National steel guitar would have made Bonnie Raitt proud. His banjo work, old-time style frailing, gave sparkle to the few American ballads he perforried ^ Perhaps Franke would have project- ed more to a fuller house. He suffers from the under-promotion problems of a singer-songwriter without big record corporation backing. Franke describe Fretless label on which he recorded as a "vanity press." His album was pressed and packaged with the under- standing that he would buy the first 1,000 albums. He now does his own booking, PR work, and album distribu tion. Still, no one left his Ark concert early. The two dozen or so who came were ap preciative and attentive to every word. They even called him back for an en, core. "I don't need clubs, as I'm finding out by street singing," he said after the concert. "All I need is myself, my voice and guitar. Street singing has been a learning experience. The University Symphony Band became in 1961 the first band ever selected by the U.S. State Department for a tour of the Soviet Union and the Near East. AA/AI'S PRESENTS MUGSY 327 E. MICH., YPSILANTI 482-70 i ICAT I I ALSO THIS WEEK First University Showcase The First Breeze of Summer Oct. 26-29 in Trueblood Theatre I - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - a. a OLLING& LAG Y IDA WINNING COMBINATION Life is a Cabaret Susan Dawson poses as Sally Bowles in rehearsal for the UAC-musket production of Cabaret which will run from November 3-12. 2nd ANNUAL HAttOWEEn PARTY MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 SECO NDCHANCE REDUCED COVER IF WEARING COSTUME PRIZES FOR BEST COSTUMES Featuring Ann Arbor's No. 1 Band: SECOND ChANCE 516 E. LIBERTY ANN ARBOR. M1 48108 991-5360 SOPT. PEPPERS* 1028 E. UNIVERSITY-662-0202 9:30 A M.-:00PA.M. 7 DAYS A WEEK SALE FRI. OCT. 28 THRU SUNDAY NOV. 6 Jazz pianist Claude Bolling performs his own Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano with the incomparable guitarist Alexandre Lagoya. Bolling's softly-swinging French-style jazz piano coupled with Lagoya's classical/Spanish guitar is a superb collaboration by two master instru- mentalists. RED SEAL FRESH IOWA MEATS ground round 98C/Ib. FRYERS 59/lb. LARGE EGGS 69C/dox. HEAD LETTUCE 39C BANANAS 190/ b. Rose Vale-can I